Hamilton plays for Scots in World Cup (2 March 1999)

GAVIN Hamilton's place in the Scottish squad for the forthcoming
World Cup was confirmed yesterday following the announcement of
England's final 15-man squad.

The Yorkshire all-rounder became available after he was omitted
from the England squad and the SCU received assurances that his
name would not be included among the four nominated English
reserves.

The news provides another boost for Scotland's first World Cup
campaign, although Hamilton will not, in the event, join the
Scottish squad in Sharjah next month for training.

Having spent the winter playing grade cricket in Australia, he
will instead link up his Yorkshire colleagues for a pre-season
tour to South Africa, where the English county will play a number
of first-class games.

The SCU's Director of Cricket Jim Love is happy with the
arrangement. "Gavin is already match-fit and will probably derive
more from Yorkshire's South African tour than he would from a
training camp," he said.

Love expressed his own delight at Hamilton's presence in the
squad. "In Gavin we have someone capable of performing with both
bat and ball at the highest level. He is a popular player who
certainly has the respect of the rest of the Scottish squad," he
added.

Hamilton's last-minute inclusion means disappointment for West of
Scotland's Craig Wright who was the Yorkshire player's likely
deputy had he been called up for England.

Nasser Hussain has been left out of England's World Cup squad to
allow Graham Thorpe to return. Angus Fraser and Ian Austin are
also included, as is Austin's Lancashire team-mate and former
England captain Michael Atherton.